The Tenor (10 Dundas St E, Ent Prop Trust, 10s, Baldwin & Franklin)

[MajorComplainer]

I did overhear a few people say "Wow" as they approached the square

Now now now...the "wow" can be misleading or have many meanings...such as

"Wow, what a beautiful, gorgeous, out of this world, amazing place"

or

"Wow, what a crappy, ugly, boring, can't-believe-they-hype-it-this-much-time-square-wannabe dump"

So, the "wow" doesn't not always mean good.

 

[adma]

"Wow" as a synonym for "Wtf"?

 

[MisterF]

And I heard at least 4 people refer to it as Dundas Square. As I suspected, there's no way any other name will stick.

Well it's called Dundas Square, so why would people call it anything else? The development with the theatres, Future Shop, and mall is called Toronto Life Square.

 

[MetroMan]

^ which I reiterate is a very clever move by Toronto Life to repeat what Times did with their building on Times Square, resulting in the whole area being named after that magazine.

I do think that the Toronto will be dropped in conversations and the building will be referred to as Life Square, and eventually the whole area could be called that due to the "Square" in Toronto Life Square.

I see this happening even more in the likelihood that a sign is added to the exterior of Metropolis with that name.

 

[MajorComplainer]

There's just so many wrongs in this article:

Let there be light at Yonge And Dundas
Installation of video billboards nears completion
Karon Liu
National Post

The billboard is one of nine totalling more than 20,000 square feet that will wrap around the 10-storey building, fulfilling the original vision of Yonge-Dundas as Toronto's Times Square.

Sigh, Toronto's Time Square.... I just HATE when people say that. Maybe Toronto IS the inferior cousin after all.

John Klissouras, who is overseeing the mounting of the exterior signs as project manager for Provincial Sign Systems, said three billboards are already up, and he expects all nine to be up and working by the end of the year.

So, it takes FOUR months to put up 6 billboards? So, do they put up a hook a week?

''It's going to be amazing," said city councillor Kyle Rae who helped spearhead the project and the revitalization of Yonge-Dundas Square. ''It's going to be the place to be, where you can hang out and listen to music. It's a European piazza, a gathering of activities.''

Great, first, it's Time Square. Now, it's European piazza. Mr. Rae, have you even seen what an European piazza's like?? Please, Dundas Sq is like an European piazza? What a joke!

The 30-by 53-foot video billboard -- 34 smaller screens surround it, bringing its total size to 43 by 69 feet -- took two months to design, three months to make and another month to install,

That's all? He forgot about "a decade to build"?

On the east side of Yonge-Dundas Square, PenEquity's $42-million vacant Torch building, which housed the Olympic Spirit complex before closing in June, 2006, is also expected to find new retail and office tenants soon.

Mr. Robinson believes that once Toronto Life Square is finished, other retailers will be drawn to the Torch building because of the increased number of visitors.

In other words, that dump is STILL a dump. NOBODY is interested.

 

[Hydrogen]

Sigh, Toronto's Time Square.... I just HATE when people say that. Maybe Toronto IS the inferior cousin after all.

I agree. Such statements suggest that the writer has never been near Times Square.

 

[adma]

I do think that the Toronto will be dropped in conversations and the building will be referred to as Life Square, and eventually the whole area could be called that due to the "Square" in Toronto Life Square.

That makes no sense to me, if only because "Toronto Life" is a known brand, and...what might conceivably justify "Life Square"? A Shoppers Drug Mart super-outlet? (Unless there's a point here about Toronto Life magazine being increasingly irrelevant to anyone under 50.)

 

[Hydrogen]

Yup, the idea of it being called "Life Square" does not sound probable. The whole area will be dominated by the long-running "Dundas Square" for quite some time to come - even the building. I think it's hard to identify a building as being similar to a public square (particularly when neither the building or the square are square).

 

[maestro]

So, it takes FOUR months to put up 6 billboards? So, do they put up a hook a week?

you do understand lanes of traffic/sidewalks have to be closed at this very busy intersection

edit: didn't see who was expressing their view ... freedom has its dark sides as well

 

[Hydrogen]

I was reading that in Ottawa they replaced a highway overpass in 14 hours - an overpass over a 400 series highway.

I think four months for six billboards is a long time. But then everything about this project is a long time.

 

[maestro]

Ottawa has two 400 series highways and neither is as impresses as those found in and around Toronto - 416 would only need to be a two lane span or one piece dropped (instead of hung) into position

 

[MajorComplainer]

you do understand lanes of traffic/sidewalks have to be closed at this very busy intersection

edit: didn't see who was expressing their view ... freedom has its dark sides as well

So, is that their "excuse" to be such slow pace? If that's the case, Toronto can never build anything. Anywhere in downtown is busy.

So what's their next excuse? Too cold? Snow? Too much falling leaves have blown to their site that they need another 20 weeks to clean up?

 

[Tewder]

Dundas Square is indeed a European-style piazza - and a beautiful one at that - in spite of its aesthetic, which is appropriately and thankfully modern and unique. Those looking for cobles, fountains or overwraught statuary may feel jilted, but those of us simply looking for a public space that dares to be just that, a space for the public in the midst of dense urban and commercial activity, will be pleased with what has emerged. People may reach for terms like 'piazza' or 'Times Square' to try and convey what in fact feels fairly unique. That's no crime and does not mean we have an inferiority complexe, Dundas Square does manage to feel a little like each of those things, the sum of which end up being something a little different for itself.

 

[Hydrogen]

Ottawa has two 400 series highways and neither is as impresses as those found in and around Toronto - 416 would only need to be a two lane span or one piece dropped (instead of hung) into position

It was over the 417 which is the major artery for the city.

The point still stands: four months for six billboards is a very long time. Closing roads and sidewalks to traffic is not something that can be done on the fly; applications and permission from the city must be granted. So one can assume that whoever is hanging the signs is taking their sweet time doing so.

 

[MisterF]

I agree. Such statements suggest that the writer has never been near Times Square.

Let alone all the other advertising squares/districts in the world.

(particularly when neither the building or the square are square)

Squares rarely are.